Alcohol

MADISON HEIGHTS (AP) — The Applebee's restaurant chain says it's changing the way it serves juice after a toddler was mistakenly given a small amount of alcohol at a Detroit-area location. The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News report Tuesday that Applebee's will pour juice for children from single-serve containers at the table starting this week. Applebee's also plans to retrain workers. Madison Heights police say the drink mislabeled as apple juice was actually a leftover mixed drink combination.

MADISON HEIGHTS (AP) — A Detroit-area couple have sued the Applebee's restaurant chain after their toddler was mistakenly given a small amount of alcohol instead of apple juice. The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press say Taylor Dill-Reese and Dominic Wilson sued in Oakland County Circuit Court after their 15-month-old son Dominic Jr. consumed alcohol Friday at the Madison Heights location. Dominic was examined by doctors, and the family was told the child's blood alcohol level was 0.10 percent.

EAST LANSING, Michigan (AP) - A judge in East Lansing has ordered two young men tried in the alcohol poisoning death of a freshman in her Michigan State University dorm room. A roommate found 18-year-old Olivia N. Pryor dead March 19. On Tuesday, District Judge David Jordon ruled there's enough evidence to try 19-year-old Dishon Ambrose of Detroit and 18-year-old Marquez Cannon of Eastpointe. Ambrose is charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor causing death and being an accessory after the fact to first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving Pryor.

BOYNE CITY - Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office responded to a one-vehicle crash at 10:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Carl Rasch III, 17, of Boyne City lost control of his vehicle, going off the roadway and rolling onto the driver's side. Rasch sustained minor injuries, according to a Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office press release, but was not treated because he fled the area following the crash. The sheriff's office believes speed and alcohol were factors in the crash, which is under investigation.

OTSEGO COUNTY - Many schools, community leaders and county governmental and community service agencies, including the Otsego County Board of Commissioners earlier this month, have lent their support to take a stand on underage drinking by proclaiming May as Social Host Liability Awareness Month. The backing by the varied organizations is meant to call attention to the responsibilities adults shoulder in making sure graduation open houses and parties are alcohol-free for youth under the age of 21 and to highlight the penalties - criminal and civil - adults can face if they allow underage drinking at parties hosted at their homes.

BOYNE CITY -- Alcoholic beverages will continue to not be served at Boyne City restaurants' outdoor sidewalk cafes. At its meeting Tuesday, the Boyne City Commission unanimously approved the second reading of and adopted an ordinance regulating sidewalk cafes in the city. The rules surrounding the cafes were a part of the city's zoning ordinance and the change removed the rules from the zoning ordinance and instead placed them in a general ordinance, nearly identical to the original.

Carolyn Baker was in Michigan less than a few months when she got her first and only Minor in Possession (MIP) citation. "I didn't realize how many of my peers had been in trouble here," said Baker, of Petoskey. "Even parents said it wasn't a big deal, and that's how it goes in Northern Michigan. "I was surprised it was a day-to-day thing. " Baker, who was 15 at the time and had moved north from Austin, Texas, said the consequences of underage drinking were more than what she bargained for - fines, court costs, community service, a restricted license and substance abuse assessment classes.

GAYLORD - A 22-year-old Gaylord man and 26-year-old Atlanta woman were charged Friday with furnishing alcohol to a minor who died in a car crash Jan. 17. Authorities said, however, alcohol was not the only factor that contributed to the fatal accident. Julianne (Julie) Yvonne Johnson, 20, of Gaylord, was killed when she lost control of the 2000 GMC Jimmy she was driving Jan. 17 around 1:15 a.m., southbound on West Otsego Lake Drive, just three-tenths of a mile from her parents' home.

PELLSTON - A handful of Emmet County youth are determined to reduce alcohol abuse among teens and hope to spread word of their growing concern with help from parents, law enforcement and interested citizens. In order to reach out, members of the Substance Abuse Free Environments youth group - made up of Petoskey, Pellston and Harbor Springs high school students - are having community meetings to discuss the dangers of alcohol and drugs. They also recently spoke with some students from area schools to determine how easy it is for teens to access alcohol and shared the results during a meeting Wednesday at Pellston High School.

Tom Brinkman's body ends at his waist. And he wants your child to see it. " You might remember that introduction to a recent story about the Petoskey man who, after a life of drug and alcohol abuse, is out to share his cautionary message with area youths. We appreciate his efforts and his candor. And it comes at a particularly opportune time. In a couple short months, hundreds of area young people will be celebrating the end of another school year with proms, parties and graduations.

In London, a seemingly hopeless alcoholic was placed under the care of a psychiatrist, but found little help. A Billy Graham evangelistic crusade was being held in that city and this hurting man was invited to attend. There he heard of God's love for him and responded to the invitation to receive Christ as his Savior. When this new convert was about to fall asleep that night, he reached for his bottle to take his customary last drink of the day but found himself unable to continue his old habit.

BOYNE CITY - Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office responded to a one-vehicle crash at 10:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Carl Rasch III, 17, of Boyne City lost control of his vehicle, going off the roadway and rolling onto the driver's side. Rasch sustained minor injuries, according to a Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office press release, but was not treated because he fled the area following the crash. The sheriff's office believes speed and alcohol were factors in the crash, which is under investigation.

Parents, please be concerned at a new "trending idea. " Lately the Internet has been buzzing with an idea called "vaporizing alcohol" or "smoking alcohol. " There are various methods in doing this, and a quick scan of the Internet shows several different ways you can "off gas" the alcohol, then ingest the alcohol. Dry ice method This method uses dry ice in a container that can withstand mild pressure, and mixes it with the alcohol. The dry ice causes separation between the liquid itself and its alcohol content by changing the alcohol into a gas. The user simply then inhales the off-gassing (alcohol)

GAYLORD - Eileen Offenheiser, 67, is a recovering alcoholic who was forced into treatment by the criminal justice system. “I would have died by now if I hadn't received help in 2001,” she said. Offenheiser might have seemed an unlikely candidate for addiction. She was a good Irish Catholic girl who spent ages 14 through 17 in a convent. None of her family were alcoholics, so she thought there was no family history of it, which can be an indicator of being at risk. Also, she didn't drink as a teenager.

OTSEGO LAKE TWP. - Troopers investigating a stolen car complaint around 1 a.m. July 26 came across a vehicle (not the stolen vehicle) at a residence in Otsego Lake Township, occupied by three minors who were drinking. According to reports, the subjects, 15-year-old males from Waterville, Monclova and Maumee, Ohio, were cited for minor in possession of alcohol and released to their parents. July car-deer crashes • Troopers from the Michigan State Police Gaylord post reported 30 car-deer crashes from July 1 through July 31. - Compiled by Judy Wagley

Want to have a beer in Boyne City's Sunset Park? Go ahead. What about a beer during a picnic at Petoskey's Mineral Well Park or the Magnus Park Campground? What about a local craft brew at Michigan Beach in Charlevoix? Have at it. Harbor Springs? Not so fast. According to Harbor Springs City Code, alcohol is prohibited from being consumed in any public space - unless the city licenses it, such as for the Waterfront Wine Festival. “No person shall possess alcoholic liquor in a container which is open or uncapped or which has a broken seal, on any public property of the City of Harbor Springs, including any sidewalk, highway, street or alley located therein,” reads the city code.

BOYNE CITY -- Alcoholic beverages will continue to not be served at Boyne City restaurants' outdoor sidewalk cafes. At its meeting Tuesday, the Boyne City Commission unanimously approved the second reading of and adopted an ordinance regulating sidewalk cafes in the city. The rules surrounding the cafes were a part of the city's zoning ordinance and the change removed the rules from the zoning ordinance and instead placed them in a general ordinance, nearly identical to the original.

Boyne City's decision to not allow alcohol service on sidewalk cafes is rooted in the right place with city commissioners voicing the desire to keep the family-friendly environment of its city. So how do you explain open alcohol containers being allowed in city parks? Or giving a pass today, Friday, to closing off a block of downtown Boyne City for a street party as the fourth annual Michigan Mountain Mayhem comes to town? Does this mean that families do not go to parks in Boyne City?

The former chief assistant prosecutor for Emmet County will serve half a year in jail after pleading guilty to a second and third offense related to driving while impaired by alcohol. Duane Michael Beach, 63, of Springvale Township, was sentenced to serve 180 days in jail immediately with credit for 35 days served, under a sentencing signed Wednesday afternoon by Otsego County's 87th District Court Judge Patricia Morse. His total time in jail could be 365 days in jail, however, 185 days have been held in abeyance contingent on the defendant following several conditions established by the court.